


picture perfect

by scriptedwayhaught



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scriptedwayhaught/pseuds/scriptedwayhaught
Summary: waverly and nicole face life with their new baby
Relationships: Jeremy Chetri/Robin, Nicole Haught & Alice Michelle, Nicole Haught & Original Earp-Haught Child(ren), Waverly Earp & Alice Michelle, Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp & Original Earp-Haught Child(ren), Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp & Doc Holliday, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught
Comments: 21
Kudos: 120





	1. christmas miracles

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this is not only my first time writing on here but also my first time writing a wayhaught work sooo idk what im doin. i also know nothing about babies???? so that's that ok enjoy

Waverly was exhausted.

She loved her life, but she was exhausted. It had been one week since the most eventful day of her life; aka, when her daughter was finally born. She had experienced an insanely rough pregnancy, from morning sickness to full body aches, whatever the worst symptoms were, she had them bad.

And although she was thrilled to finally meet her and Nicole's long awaited baby, she picked a very bad time to come into the world. She was born on December 18th which meant that the Earp-Haught family had to deal with Christmas prep on top of the new baby. They did most of their decorating pre-baby, which was fine, but they really weren't planning on the baby coming until after Christmas so their shopping was really struggling.

On Christmas Eve, Nicole had to venture out and attempt to find any sort of remainder of gifts that she was supposed to get. It was for sure a struggle, but she did what she could and Waverly was sure to thank her in her exhausted state. After they put the baby down, they both stayed up to wrap the gifts and ended up collapsing pretty much on top of each other at 2 am.

Waverly was woken up only about an hour later by screeching coming from the bassinet next to their bed. She felt Nicole try to get up so she flopped her arm over her wife's body, and Nicole understood. They had developed a form of wordless communication that they used whenever they had to get up to tend to the baby.

Waverly sat up and clicked on the light on her nightstand. She glanced at Nicole, who was somehow already out like a light again. Waverly walked to the end of their bed and picked up her baby, who was still screaming all of the air out of her lungs. It had only been a week but Waverly was already used to it.

She made her way into the kitchen from their room, baby still crying, and Waverly prepped a bottle for her. Walking was still kind of rough for poor Waverly. Her delivery was not exactly the smoothest and her labor lasted for about 12 hours, and another 3 hours were spent pushing. Needless to say, she was a little sore.

Once the bottle was ready she offered it to the infant who (thankfully) took it. Waverly relished in the silence as she sat down on the couch and watched her baby.

Though they had no choice but to pick a donor to be able to have their baby, little Willow definitely still looked like Nicole, in a way. They had tried to pick a donor that was as similar to Nicole as possible. Her hair, though barely there, had an orange/red tint to it, and even though there weren't any real smiles out of her yet, Waverly swore she saw dimples too. Those damn dimples. They had Waverly hooked from first glance.

Since she was 16, Waverly had assumed Champ was it for her. Everyone told her that he was the only one crazy enough to date an Earp, and with that engraved into her mind, she pretty much forgot she was allowed to break up with him. Nicole was the deciding factor in her life. Once she met the young deputy in Shorty's that fateful morning, and when she lost sleep over her and her stupid dimples that night, and the night after that, and the night after that, she knew that Champ couldn't possibly be the one for her. He never gave her the butterflies she got around her Nicole, and he never treated her the way that she did.

Waverly was so caught up in her sleep deprived thoughts that she almost missed Willow finishing her bottle. She picked up a burp cloth that was lying on the couch and gently placed Willow over her shoulder, gently patting her back until she felt the little girl release a petite burp. Waverly talked quietly to her as they made their way back to the bedroom. Once they had reached the bassinet, Willow was practically out. Once Waverly offered her the pacifier that was lying in it, she was out. Gently, as to not disturb the baby, she placed her back in the bassinet and breathed a sigh of relief.

Most feedings were not that easy. They usually involved way more screaming, way more fussiness, sometimes tears from Waverly, never tears from Nicole because she was strong for her wife. Waverly was practically asleep before her head even hit the pillow, but she didn't miss the way that Nicole pulled her close, even in her asleep state.

When Waverly was woken up again, it was significantly lighter out in their bedroom. She heard Willow screaming yet again, but when she moved to get up, she felt Nicole's hand on her shoulder.

"I got it, babe," the red head mumbled and Waverly smiled sleepily. That one stupid word never failed to send butterflies to her stomach and get her smiling. Waverly went back to sleep, but only for about an hour or so. When she did wake up again, she found the sheets cold and the baby's bassinet empty. When she heard Christmas tunes floating into the room from down the hall, a smile graced her lips. She pulled one of Nicole's Purgatory PD sweatshirts over her head before sauntering into the kitchen.

Her wife was standing at the stove, making something that was probably going to be great, while Willow slept contently in her swing. The fireplace was lit and Waverly could see the flat screen from where she was standing and saw the Sounds of the Season channel on display.

Moving away from the Homestead was not a decision that was made easily, but in the end Waverly just wanted to leave the past behind and have a totally new place to make more pleasant and less traumatic memories. Plus, she thought it would be better for Wynonna and Doc to be there instead of her. So while moving was hard, the house she and Nicole picked was absolutely perfect, and she was glad she did it.

The youngest Earp walked up behind her wife and wrapped her arms around her waist, letting her head fall naturally onto the taller woman's back.

"Merry Christmas, Waves," Nicole said softly, to which Waverly groaned.

"Did she give you any trouble last night?" the redhead continued.

"No, not really. She was perfect the last time I got her. You?" Waverly responded.

"She was not a happy camper like an hour ago but we're all good now," Nicole said. The smell of vegan breakfast fajitas hit Waverly's nose and she hugged Nicole tighter.

"Have I ever told you I love you before?" she asked before prying herself away from her wife to make some tea. Nicole shot her one of those trademark dimples grins that made her weak in the knees.

"I would say a couple of times, yeah," Nicole giggled.

Waverly couldn't have imagined a better Christmas morning. The two women actually got to eat together while Willow slept, which was a blessing. But of course, the infant then had a blowout that wrecked her pajamas and required a nice bath. After her bath and another feeding, she was back to sleep, and the two took turns showering.

Christmas for Waverly and Nicole usually meant traveling back to the Homestead to be hosted by Wynonna and Doc. Every year after dinner they opened gifts and played a different competitive game, and every year Wynonna got blackout drunk and had to be carried off to bed before the night even ended. And since the curse was broken and Alice reunited with her family, it was even more fun. But now Waverly was feeling nervous.

None of her family or friends had met Willow yet since she was such a surprise. Wynonna and Doc were out of town at an outlet mall Christmas shopping on the day she was born, and Jeremy and Robin had to watch Alice so they couldn't just show up. Waverly was fine with it at the time, but now she couldn't help but worry about how it was all going to work out.

"Baby, you're thinking too hard again. You're making your 'I'm worried' face," Nicole said while braiding another strand of her hair. Waverly always had Nicole help her with her hair. It was so much easier that way.

"Are you not the slightest bit worried about today?" Waverly responded, searching Nicole's face in the mirror.

"I'm really not," she said with a slight laugh. "They're family. Why're you so concerned?" Waverly bit her nails, a very bad habit of hers.

"I just . . . I don't know, what if they think we're doing something wrong? Or what if she starts to cry and I can't get her to stop and we look like failures? Or what if-." Nicole swiftly kissed her wife's lips to stop her running train of thoughts.

"Think about who we're taking about here. Wynonna is her own special category, but do you really think Doc, or Jeremy, or Robin, or our adorable niece are going to judge us?" she pointed out.

"No, I guess not," Waverly mumbled under her breath.

"And if they do have something to say, you know I'm not afraid to kick some ass for you and Willow," Nicole continued, returning to Waverly's hair. Waverly couldn't help but smile as she looked in the mirror. She just couldn't believe that Nicole was really hers, for the rest of her life.

"I love you," Waverly blurted, and there were those dimples again.

"I love you the most," Nicole retorted, something they had started way back when they first started dating and had kept going through all the years.

Somehow, an hour later, they were all ready. Waverly wore a red sweater, leggings, and some grey boots, while Nicole had chosen to go with jeans, a red and black flannel, and black toms. Willow's look was Waverly's favorite. She wore a white long sleeved onesie with a little red bow that had a red and black dress/skirt over it, similar to the pattern on Nicole's flannel. Waverly had miraculously managed to put some white tights on too. On her head was a simple black headband with a tiny black bow.

Willow was pretty much passed out again by the time Nicole put her in the car seat with a blanket. Nicole drove while Waverly sat anxiously in the passenger seat. Nicole could sense Waverly's nervous energy and simply reached her hand out to grab the other girl's. Waverly instantly relaxed into her touch and let her head relax against the headrest.

Eventually they arrived at the Homestead. There was another car so they pretty much assumed that Jeremy and Robin were already there. When Nicole parked the car, Waverly hesitated.

"We got this, yeah?" Nicole asked reassuringly, kissing the back of Waverly's hand.

"Yeah, I guess," Waverly answered unconvincingly. They both got out, Nicole taking the diaper bag and Waverly taking Willow in her car seat. When they reached the door they didn't even have time to knock before Wynonna opened it excitedly.

"Holy shit girl, are you sure you just had a baby?" She exclaimed, and Waverly instantly felt a weight lift off of her shoulders as she laughed a little. The couple headed inside, responding to the hellos that were thrown at them. Once they both got a seat on the couch in the living room, Waverly removed Willow from her car seat and held her close. She was somehow still asleep.

"Alice is still napping upstairs, so now would probs be the best time for this baby meeting thing," Wynonna said slyly, taking a seat next to Waverly as everyone slowly filed in. Waverly carefully handed Willow off to her sister.

"Wynonna, this is Willow," she said softly. Everyone watched as Wynonna met her niece for the first time, and when Wynonna held her finger out, Willow wrapped her tiny little hand around it, even in her sleep.

"Waves, she's beautiful," Wynonna finally said, breaking the peaceful silence. It was rare to see Wynonna actually act serious. "And you too, Haught-sauce."

"Classy as always, Wynonna," Nicole sighed from her spot next to Waverly.

"She takes after her aunt," Waverly commented, leaning a head on her older sister's shoulder.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm a total badass, she's a total badass, I'm beautiful, she's beautiful, I'm cooler than you, she's cooler than you, the list really goes on," the older Earp said confidently, earning her a glare and a shake of the head from her sister.

"Wynonna, her full name is Willow Wynonna Earp-Haught," Waverly responded. The room fell silent as it really hit Wynonna, and she began to cry.

"Great job, Waverly, you made me cry on Christmas," Wynonna said sarcastically and the whole room laughed. Waverly herself was a little teary eyed as Wynonna handed Willow back to her as she began to fuss from the noise. She then handed her off to Nicole, who had a knack for always getting Willow to quiet down.

The friends all chatted and caught up on life while they waited for the dinner to be ready. Jeremy and Robin had recently gone on a trip to India, where Robin got terrible food poisoning and had to stay in the hotel for almost half a week. When Doc and Wynonna had gone Christmas shopping for Alice, Wynonna tried for 3 hours to convince Doc that they needed a dog, and unsurprisingly, he didn't budge. And of course, Waverly and Nicole recalled the birth of their daughter.

"It was the longest 15 hours of my entire life," Waverly sighed. She was leaning into Nicole, who had recently fed and changed Willow and had somehow gotten her to sleep with all the chatter.

"Dude, I gave birth on a fucking pool table while fighting for my life. At least you got to be at the hospital," Wynonna scoffed.

"I feel like birth isn't exact a walk in the park, no matter where it occurs," Jeremy spoke up.

"Thank you, Jeremy," Waverly said and he shot her a smile.

"Where's Doc?" Nicole suddenly spoke, and Waverly glanced around the room to see that he wasn't there.

"I think he went to get Alice so we can eat," Wynonna answered. She had some great timing, because just then, Doc came down the stairs carrying the 3 year old in his arms. Once she spotted Nicole and Waverly, she squirmed to try to break free of her father's gasp, then ran over to them. Waverly pulled the little girl into her lap and was met with a huge hug.

"Hi baby, Merry Christmas," Waverly said to her as she pulled back from the hug. Alice was all Wynonna. She had gotten some of Doc's personality, but that kid was basically a clone copy of her mom.

"Auntie Waves, Mommy said I was really good this year and she was right! Santa brought me so many cool toys and-hey, what is Auntie Nicole holding?" she stopped mid ramble as she spotted her other aunt with the baby.

"That's our baby, Alice. Your cousin. You see how Auntie Waves doesn't have that big tummy anymore?" Nicole said gently. Alice looked down from her position in Waverly's lap to notice that her aunt was no longer as big as she was last time.

"The baby came out of your belly?" she gasped in wonder, hand placed onto Waverly's stomach.

"Yep, just like you came out of your mommy's belly," Waverly answered, brushing some hair out of the girl's face. Alice looked at her mother in shock, and Waverly giggled when Wynonna feigned shock too.

Alice shifted more on Waverly's lap so she was closer to Nicole and peered down at the infant who lay sleeping in her mom's arms.

"Can I hold her?" Alice asked as she looked up at Nicole with the biggest blue eyes. Nicole nodded and instructed Alice to sit down next to her. She did as she was told and waited patiently for Nicole to give her the baby.

"Ok, bub, you have to hold her head because she's too little to do that by herself," Nicole said softly, slowly transitioning Willow into her cousin's lap. She made sure that Waverly was on the other said to give Alice some extra help in holding her.

"She's tiny!" Alice exclaimed, staring down intently at the baby. Waverly feared the sudden noise would wake Willow but thankfully it did not.

"Everybody was that tiny once honey, even your Godzilla sized Aunt Nicole, though I think she was probably born about 6 ft tall," Wynonna encouraged, which of course earned her an angry stare from the red head and a giggle from her daughter.

"Can we play with my toys together?" Alice asked sweetly and Waverly felt her heart melt.

"I'm sorry baby, she's a little too small and a little too young for that right now. But by next Christmas you guys are gonna be able to play all you want," Waverly responded, placing a hand on Alice's back.

"'Cuz she'll be bigger?" the little girl questioned, and her aunts nodded. When Willow started to squirm a little more, Waverly took the baby from her niece. Everyone praised Alice on how well she did holding the baby and she was beaming. Once in her mother's arms, Willow instantly fell back to sleep, and since it was close to dinner, Waverly decided to put her down in Alice's old Pack and Play that Wynonna had set up in Alice's room.

The dinner was amazing, as it usually was. Everyone laughed and told stories and reminisced on earlier times and people they missed. Nicole had her hand placed on Waverly's thigh the entire time and Waverly enjoyed the contact. As Alice was starting to get into a story of her own, Waverly heard Willow start to cry and jumped up to go tend to her.

When she made it to Alice's room, she picked the screaming baby up and moved to go change her, but her diaper was clean, so she just changed her into her pajamas. She then tried to offer her one of the bottles they had made, but she refused that too. Waverly felt the stress starting to build in her stomach. She held the baby in her arms and tried her best to rock her back to sleep but nothing was working.

"Come on, Willow. Can you please stop crying for Mommy?" she asked quietly, voice faltering as the newborn just continued to scream. Waverly was trying everything and nothing was working. She felt like all of her fears were coming true and she couldn't help but start to cry with the baby. She felt hopeless. She didn't even notice Nicole opening the door.

"Waves," Nicole said gently, and Waverly looked up at her with teary eyes.

"Nicole, she won't stop crying, I've tried everything and she just keeps on screaming," the brunette cried. Gently, Nicole took Willow from her wife. She held the screaming infant close to her chest as she began to walk up and down the room slowly, talking to Willow quietly until her intense screams bubbled down to hiccups. She wasn't asleep, but she wasn't screaming anymore. Nicole sat down next to her wife and wrapped an arm around her as best as she could with a baby in the other.

Waverly leaned into her wife and let a few more tears fall. She couldn't help but feel like a failure, especially when Nicole so easily got Willow to quiet down. She knew that she was doing the best she could, but some days were harder than others.

"What am I doing wrong, Nicole?" Waverly sniffled.

"Nothing, baby," Nicole murmured, placing a kiss on her wife's head. "You are doing absolutely nothing wrong." Waverly leaned away from Nicole's shoulder to look at her.

"But-but I couldn't get her to stop crying and you always know just what to do, so why don't I?" she said sadly as more tears filled her eyes.

"Waves, I don't always know what to do. I know that you know how many times I've gotten up to feed her and ended up handing her off to you," the red head responded. It was true, Waverly had been woken up by Nicole a handful of times after getting up for the baby, but she never really connected the dots as to why.

"Things aren't gonna be perfect. If they were, everyone would have kids and the world would be way more overpopulated. Everything that's happening right now is normal, and just because you're having a hard day doesn't mean that you're failing, ok?" she continued as she rubbed Waverly's back. Waverly gave a small nod.

Nicole scooted up as far as she could on Alice's bed, until she reached the headboard. Her long legs took up about 87% of the room on the bed, but she still opened them and invited Waverly to lay there. Waverly graciously accepted and crawled up until her head was resting on Nicole's stomach and she was laying on her own stomach. Nicole, still holding Willow, ran her fingers through her wife's hair.

"I love you so much," Waverly mumbled, sleep taking over her exhausted body.

"I love you so much more, Waves," Nicole responded, but Waverly was already out.

Nicole laid there for about half an hour, Willow finally asleep in her arms, Waverly asleep on top of her, until Wynonna barged in.

"Oh thank God, I was worried you two were gonna be going at it on my daughters bed and I was gonna have to murder you," she sighed.

"Nope, just doing my duty as an extra large pillow," Nicole laughed.

"Ok, well, ignoring that, we were gonna start to do our gifts and I think Alice will have an emotional breakdown if you guys aren't there, so," Wynonna trailed off, her gaze falling to Waverly who was still very much passed out.

"Yeah, we'll be there, just give us like 5 minutes," the redhead answered, and Wynonna shot her a look.

"5 minutes seems a bit excessive so I still reserve the right to murder you if-"

"Jesus, Wynonna, we aren't gonna do anything," she groaned, so Wynonna was satisfied and left. Nicole gently shook the sleeping woman in front of her until she opened her eyes and attempted to stretch in their cramped space.

"How long was I out for?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Like half an hour. Wynonna just came in and said that Alice refuses to open gifts without us, but if you want to sleep I can sub in for both of us," Nicole offered.

"Babe, you're too sweet. I'm good, I just needed a little nap," Waverly said, smiling as she took Willow from Nicole. The baby had opened her eyes momentarily and was contently sucking on her pacifier. The family made their way back out to the living room, no one even really batting an eye at their return, or disappearance for that matter.

They took a seat on the couch and Waverly held Willow on her shoulder. They all watched as Alice tore through all of her gifts, making sure to thank everyone appropriately. Nicole and Waverly got Doc a new hat and Wynonna yet another bottle of whiskey, which she would never turn down. They were kind of stumped with what to do for Jeremy and Robin, so they both got a magazine subscription to some Sci-Fi magazine. Waverly and Nicole felt bad for the lame gift but they assured the women that they loved it.

They all sat in comfortable silence, the fire crackling, until Alice ran off to her room and came back with a gift bag and handing it proudly to her aunts. She then joined her mother, who was sitting next to Nicole.

"I didn't wrap it, Mommy did that, but I made it," Alice said as Nicole unwrapped the gift since Waverly was holding Willow. She carefully unwrapped the cutest gift she had ever seen. It was a picture of Alice, Waverly and Nicole's faces, Alice squished in between, all three of them sporting huge smiles.

"That was when we went to the beach during the summer," Waverly commented, laying her head on Nicole's shoulder. The frame itself was covered in paint, stickers, glitter, you name it. But at the bottom, Alice had managed to scrawl out, with the help of Wynonna, Best Aunts Ever. Gently, Nicole placed the frame back in the bag and scooped Alice off of Wynonna's lap and into her arms.

"Do you like it?" she asked, placing her hands onto Nicole's cheeks.

"I love it, bub. It's gonna go right next to my bed so I can look at it every night and every morning," Nicole said with a huge smile.

"Yay! Do you like it, Auntie Waves?" Alice continued, turning to her other Aunt.

"It's the best gift I've ever gotten, baby, thank you so much," Waverly answered and Alice clapped gleefully.

Less than 20 minutes after that, Alice was passed out cold in Doc's lap, Wynonna had to be carried away as usual, and Waverly was exhausted herself, so they packed up their stuff, put Willow in her car seat, bid their goodbyes, and drove home.

Once home, Nicole gave Willow a bottle and put her to sleep in her bassinet while Waverly showered. They met again in the bathroom while Waverly was brushing her teeth. She was sporting one of Nicole's old softball t-shirts from high school and plaid pajama pants.

"God, I love it when you wear my stuff," Nicole groaned, wrapping an arm around the shorter girl's waist.

"I know. That's why I always do it," Waverly grinned, spitting into the sink then rinsing her mouth. Once she was done, she again just stared into the mirror and leaned back against her wife. She still had trouble believing that this was her life, and she wasn't experiencing some sort of extra long dream.

"K baby, close your eyes," Nicole instructed. Waverly eyed her suspiciously, but she trusted Nicole with every ounce of her being, so she did as she was told. She felt something cold being clasped onto her neck and didn't open her eyes until Nicole told her it was ok.

Around her neck was a gold necklace with two bars hanging down. As she looked closer, she noticed that the smaller one said Willow, and the longer one had her birth date on it.

"Nicole-," she started, but Nicole cut her off.

"I know we said no gifts this year, but I mean, how can I not get you a gift? You're the most amazing, beautiful, smart, badass woman I've ever met, and now that we're parents, I can add the best mom to that list, too. I know this has been a hard adjustment for you, so this necklace was kind of my way of reminding you that you made something amazing, and she and I love you so much and need you in our lives" she said, and Waverly just about lost it. She spun around and wrapped her arms around her wife's neck before planting a kiss on her lips, one Nicole reciprocated eagerly.

"Keep talking like that and I'm gonna have to marry you or something," Waverly sighed as they pulled back but left their foreheads together.

"Hmm, I guess that's not the worst idea," Nicole responded, earning a giggle and another kiss from Waverly.

"Let's go to bed before Willow wakes up and we lose all chance of sleep," Waverly suggested, and Nicole followed her out of the bathroom and into their room. They both got into bed, Waverly curled up against Nicole's side.

"Seriously, thank you for the necklace baby. And, you know, for being the love of my life or whatever," Waverly mumbled. Nicole stroked her head and closed her eyes.

"The pleasure is all mine."

Waverly fell asleep to the sound of Nicole's heart beating in her ear and knew that she was her forever.


	2. growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> growth for willow and growth for waverly too!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again let me say that i know zip about babies, i based everything in this chapter off of the googling i did because i wanted to try and be as accurate as possible. so i'm sorry if it sucks or something doesn't seem right.

6 months had passed since Willow was born and Waverly felt like things were getting easier for her, mental health wise. Since Willow was older, they had been able to establish a sort of routine which took off some of the stress from her moms. But Waverly's favorite part of their schedule was the sleep.

About 9 times out of 10, Willow slept through the night with ease. It was such a relief for Waverly and Nicole, who were thrilled to have more than 5 seconds of sleep every night. It made everyday life so much easier. And their routine had been working so well, until Willow's teeth started to come in.

Teething was painful for everyone involved. While Waverly felt bad for her daughter and the pain she was feeling, her and Nicole were suffering too. Willow was so much more fussy than she had been previously, and because she was such a relatively quiet baby, it was hitting them hard. Most of the time, Willow continued to sleep through the night, even with her teething, but every now and then came a night that she would wake up.

That was why, yet again, Waverly was woken up at 3 in the morning by screeching coming form the baby monitor. She internally groaned as she sat up, pulling herself from Nicole's oddly strong grip. Even if they went to sleep as far away from each other as possible, the two would always end up in each other's arms at some point in the night. She turned down the baby monitor as she left so that she didn't wake Nicole.

Waverly made her way into Willow's room and found the baby sitting up in her crib, screaming her head off. After turning on the lamp on her dresser, she instantly put away her own problems and set to work making Willow feel better.

"I know, baby, I know it hurts," Waverly said softly as she picked her daughter up. She seemed to quiet down just a little bit once she was in Waverly's arms. Waverly reached into the crib and found Willow's pacifier. She offered it to the baby who promptly rejected it and continued to cry.

Waverly just held her close and gently rocked her, trying to get her to fall back to sleep so that their routine wouldn't be completely shattered. Slowly but surely, Willow calmed down, and when Waverly offered her the pacifier again, she took it and was instantly calmer. But when Waverly tried to put her down into her crib, she heard Willow start to whimper again.

So, she picked her up again and walked over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. She sat down and held her fussy baby in her arms once again. As she rocked the chair back and forth, she sang quietly to Willow and stroked her forehead, watching as her daughter's eyes grew heavier and heavier, until she finally fell asleep.

Waverly intended to get up and put her back in her crib, she really did, but all the rocking she was doing was making her tired too. She said she was just going to rest her eyes, but once she closed them, she was out almost instantly.

Nicole's alarm woke her up at 6 exactly. She had plans to go to the gym before she had to go into work, but when her alarm went off at 5, she instantly snoozed it. She rolled over, expecting to find Waverly and was surprised when she wasn't there. She searched her memory and vaguely remembered Willow crying at some point, so she grabbed her phone and got up to check the nursery.

What she saw when she walked in melted her heart into a puddle immediately. Waverly was passed out cold in the rocking chair, and Willow was similarly passed out on her mother's chest. Nicole instantly smiled and took her phone out to take a picture. She got the picture, but Waverly was a light sleeper, so the noise from her phone was enough to wake her up.

"Did you sleep there all night?" Nicole whispered from the doorway, and Waverly shook her head. Willow usually got up for the day at 6:30 and Waverly wanted her to get all the sleep she could.

"I'm gonna go shower, I have to be at the station for 7:30," she continued, and was intending to leave with that, but Waverly pouted and pointed to her lips. Nicole (lovingly) rolled her eyes but of course complied and walked over to plant a kiss on her wife's lips.

Nicole had been nervous about going back to work, fearing that it would be too much for Waverly. But Waverly insisted, and it ended up being a good decision because being with each other all day everyday was starting to become suffocating for both of them.

Waverly attempted to put Willow down in her crib so that her arms would stop aching but that ended up waking her up, so she changed the baby's diaper before heading into the kitchen with her. She made her a morning bottle and sat down on the couch to give it to her. Nicole came into the kitchen shortly after and began to make her breakfast.

"Don't forget about Alice's preschool graduation tonight," Waverly commented, and she could see her wife wracking her brain, trying to remember what she was talking about. Nicole sensed that Waverly was glaring at her.

"What? I remember, I swear," Nicole defended with a mouthful of cereal.

"Right. Well, just in case you need a reminder, it's at 6:30," Waverly said flatly. Nicole nodded and added it to her phone.

"Preschool graduations are weird anyway. It's just a bunch of 4 year olds being forced to stand still for like an hour," Nicole thought aloud. Waverly got up when Willow was done and handed her off to Nicole, who then placed her in her highchair.

"Weird or not, we promised Wynonna we would be there and I know she would take any excuse to beat you into the ground so-"

"I know, Waves. I'll be home by 5:30," Nicole interrupted, giving Waverly her most convincing face and batting her eyelashes for effect. She saw Waverly's features soften and a small smile fell onto her face. Nicole's faces never failed to break her.

"I hate you," Waverly mumbled as she walked away to shower.

"I love you too!" Nicole called. Willow was starting to make an awful lot of noise in her high chair, so Nicole turned her attention back to the baby.

"Oh, so you're an attention hog, huh? I guess it makes sense that your middle name is Wynonna, then," she said, sitting down in front of her with a bowl of applesauce. They had been doing actual foods instead of just milk for a while and Willow had been a fan of most things she tried, but she rejected squash time and time again. Nicole had never been a big fan of it either and it made her laugh at how they both didn't like it.

When Waverly came back from her shower, Nicole had to continue getting ready for work so she handed Willow back to Waverly. Willow had made quite the mess with her applesauce so Waverly tended to that. After that she dressed Willow in a yellow top with white flowers and little jean shorts, complete with a white headband.

She then went back to the living room and put Willow down in her bouncer so that she could see her while she made her own breakfast. Their mornings were usually fairly fast paced on the days that Nicole worked but they had pretty much gotten used to it.

10 minutes later and Waverly was sitting on the couch with her oatmeal, watching Willow entertain herself with the many toys that were on the tray of her bouncer. Nicole reappeared fully dressed in her uniform and Waverly couldn't help but stare at her. There were few things she found as attractive as Nicole in her uniform.

"Waves, you're staring," Nicole laughed as she gathered a few last things.

"What? Am I not allowed to stare at my hot wife? Was that a part of marriage that I missed or something?" Waverly defended.

"No, you're allowed to stare, but your staring makes me think about things and we can't do those things right now or else I'll never go to work and I'll lose my job," the other woman answered, which in turn made Waverly stare harder. Nicole just snorted.

"Your mommy is so silly, isn't she?" Nicole said in a high pitched voice, picking Willow up out of her seat and tickling her stomach, causing the little red head to squeal and kick her feet. Nicole kissed her all over her face before she noticed Waverly staring, again.

"Gosh, you are so needy," the taller woman jokingly sighed, leaning down to kiss Waverly's lips.

"Be safe, ok?" Waverly said seriously once they separated. Nicole handed her Willow again.

"Of course. I'll see you later, yeah?" she answered and Waverly nodded. Nicole waved as she left the house and Waverly got Willow to do an honest attempt at a wave, something she had recently picked up, not that she knew what she was doing or why she was doing it.

"You hate to see her leave but love to watch her go, right?" Waverly sighed. Willow just stared at her while shoving her fist into her mouth.

"You have no idea what I'm saying," Waverly continued and Willow smiled, showing off the one tooth that she had.

The rest of their day was pretty laid back. Willow went down for her morning nap a few hours after Nicole left for work and Waverly was able to clean up the house. For only having one baby, Willow's toys were always somewhere they weren't supposed to be.

She eventually realized that they were low on diapers and a few other things, so once Willow woke up from her nap and Waverly changed her, they headed out to the nearest store, which was about 15 minutes away from their house. Willow contently played with the toys in her car seat while she sucked on her pacifier.

Everything was going smoothly until she noticed who was working the register she was waiting in line at:

Champ.

Every feeling in her body told her to turn around but they were already almost at the front and it was too late. With shaky hands, she began to put her stuff on the belt. When Champ saw who it was, a smirk fell onto his face.

"Waverly Earp. Did you finally realize that I'm the one for you?" he sneered.

"Did you hit your head and forget that it's been like 7 years since I dumped you?" Waverly retorted, hoping that acting confident wouldn't give away how nervous she really was. Champ had a history of not being very nice to her and after his outburst at Nicole at the ball all those years ago, Waverly didn't want to know what he had to think of their marriage.

"Yeah, well-Shit, is that a wedding ring?" he said, abandoning Waverly's items and snatching her hand. It was giving Waverly flashbacks to the countless times that he would be rough with her.

"Let go of my hand, Champ," Waverly said, her voice breaking slightly. He stared at her hand for a second longer before literally dropping it onto the counter.

"Don't tell me that you married Haught," he said. He sounded almost angry and was still not working on what Waverly was trying to buy. Waverly looked around to see if anyone would help her but the store was pretty much empty.

"It's none of your business, can you please just finish with my stuff so I can-," Waverly tried, but Champ finally made the connection between the diapers and the stroller Waverly was pushing.

"No way they let you have a kid with her," he growled. Now he definitely sounded angry.

"Champ, please," Waverly pleaded. Her confidence was out the window and she felt tears burning in the back of her eyes.

"That should be illegal. That kid is turn out so screwed up without a dad around, it's disgusting that someone let that happen. It's gonna be a failure, just like you and your sister and the fucking Sheriff too," he spat. He seemed to be disgusted enough to finally return to Waverly's items and rang them up as quickly and carelessly as he could. They exchanged no more words as Waverly payed and finally left, but all of his words were still ringing clear in her ears.

She held it together on the drive home, and when she brought Willow and the groceries inside. But as soon as she picked Willow up out of her car seat and saw her beautiful little face, she lost it. She sat on the floor and held Willow close, crying onto her head, which the baby did not appreciate at all.

Waverly felt numb for the rest of the day. While Willow played, she just sat there. When Willow went down for her other nap, Waverly just sat and stared at the floor, or the wall, or whatever happened to be on T.V.

Nicole was done with work earlier than usual, at 4 instead of 5:30, and when she walked in the house, Waverly was feeding Willow the last of her afternoon bottle. When Willow saw Nicole, she smiled and decided she was done with her bottle. Nicole dropped her stuff by the door and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Waverly, who handed Nicole the baby.

"Hi pumpkin!" Nicole said excitedly and Willow giggled as she watched Nicole with the biggest hazel eyes. Willow was grabbing onto Nicole's hands and tried to shove one into her mouth to chew on.

"Ew, no, yuck, no hands in your mouth, missy," Nicole said with a disgusted look on her face. She picked up a teething toy off of the side table. "Here, chew on this." Willow took the toy giraffe and instantly put the head into her mouth. Nicole suddenly heard sniffling from the other end of the couch and immediately whipped her head around.

"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, the concern evident in her voice. Waverly tried to look up at her, but she was crying too hard to even do that. Nicole instantly placed Willow into her bouncer and sat down next to Waverly again.

"I-I saw Champ, when I went to the store. And he-he-," Waverly tried, but she couldn't even get the words out. Nicole instantly pulled her tiny body close and Waverly cried into her uniform, which Nicole could care less about.  
After a little while, Waverly's tears stopped and she took a deep breath.

"Champ was the cashier when I went to the store, and I didn't realize until it was too late. He kept asking me many questions about who I married, if I was still with you, if I wanted to get back together with him. I didn't enjoy that, but I could handle it," she started. She felt herself get choked up again, so she took another deep breath. Nicole could sense her emotional and squeezed her shoulders encouragingly.

"But then when he finally noticed Willow he went on and on about how it was disgusting and wrong that we had her, and that she was going to be a failure like me, Wynonna, and you because she doesn't have a dad," she cried softly.

"Oh, baby," Nicole said gently, rubbing Waverly's arm. "I hope you know that none of that is true. You're not a failure, Wynonna isn't a failure, as much as I want to slap her all the time, and I like to think I'm not a failure." That got a giggle out of the smaller girl.

"It's not disgusting or wrong that we had her, it's beautiful. I mean, look at our baby, Waves. She's absolutely perfect and so, so beautiful. And she's ours, and she's going to turn out so amazingly because she has the best, strongest, most amazing mom to look up to," she continued. It was silent until she heard Waverly crying again.

"Fuck, what did I say wrong this time?" Nicole groaned and Waverly laughed.

"No, these are happy tears, I swear," she reassured and Nicole sighed. "Thank you, you always know what to say."

"Well, it's kinda my job," Nicole said smugly and Waverly hit her on the arm. Nicole noticed that Willow was getting bored of being in her bouncer so she took her out and placed her on her play mat instead, and remained on the floor with her. It was silent for a while, both of the women enjoying it.

"Can I go kick Champ's ass now?" Nicole finally asked, looking up at her wife.

"That's really an amazing offer, but not right now," Waverly answered.

"Why not now?" Nicole whined, causing Waverly to giggle again.

"Because we can't have you kicking ass while we're supposed to be at Alice's graduation," she answered, to which Nicole pouted.

Two hours later, they were all ready for Alice's graduation. Waverly wore a knee length floral dress with sandals, and Nicole chose to go with a black and white striped t-shirt, jeans, and vans. Willow, as usual, was the best dressed in a light blue and white striped romper with a bow around the waist. On her feet were little baby Birkenstocks, and she wore a white wrap headband on her head.

Nicole made sure to have Waverly's favorite radio station set when she got into the car, and Waverly noticed.

"Seriously, you're the best. You never fail to make me feel better," Waverly sighed happily as they pulled out of the driveway.

"I meant everything I said. Especially the part about me kicking Champ's ass. Or at least talking to his boss or something because that was harassment," Nicole replied, her defensive side coming out.

"Easy there, Karen," Waverly giggled.

"I'm serious, Wave. He's not allowed to do that," Nicole said, and Waverly took her hand that was resting on the console.

"I know babe. If you want to file some sort of complaint against him, I am not opposed to it at all," she said, and they left it at that.

When they arrived at the elementary school, they followed the signs to the auditorium. Only the first few rows were taken up, since it was such a small event. They spotted Wynonna and Doc and the whole gang and sat down next to them.

"Took you long enough," Wynonna mumbled, and Waverly shot her a look.

"We're here 15 minutes early," Nicole deadpanned.

"15 minutes early is late for me, but at least you brought my niece," the eldest Earp said, continuing to argue with Nicole just for the sake of annoying her, which was clearly working. Waverly handed Willow over to Wynonna, and Willow was immediately thrilled. Her love for Wynonna was strong and it only fueled the power that Wynonna held over Nicole.

"Dude, what the hell is on her head?" Wynonna asked as she bounced the baby in her lap.

"It's a headband," Waverly defended.

"It looks like you tried to wrap a bowling ball for Christmas," Wynonna continued. Waverly scoffed and took Willow back. She loved Wynonna but sometimes she was all for Nicole's plan for pushing her out a window.

Slowly, all the kids began to file out onto the stage, wearing miniature caps and gowns. They didn't stand very still at all for any of it, and Alice wore the biggest smile of all time and wouldn't stop waving at everyone, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

After the whole thing was over, the kids started coming off the stage to greet their parents. After Alice had stopped to see Doc and Wynonna, she Usain Bolt sprinted at Nicole, who caught the girl in her arms and spun her around.

"Did you see me up there? Did you like my singing?" Alice questioned eagerly.

"I loved your singing, it was absolutely amazing," Nicole answered with a big smile, placing Alice on the ground. But the second her feet touched the ground, she grabbed Waverly and Nicole's hands and dragged them in the direction of an older looking woman who was standing at the end of the stage.

"Mrs. Murray! Mrs. Murray! These are my aunties!" Alice exclaimed excitedly. Nicole and Waverly introduced themselves to the teacher.

"I have heard so much about you two from this one," Mrs. Murray said warmly, and Alice beamed happily.

"Yeah! I told her all about all of our sleepovers, and how Auntie Nicole is a cop, and," she paused and looked around to make sure Wynonna wasn't looking before whispering, "how you let me stay up and eat tons of ice cream when we hang out".

"Oh yes, the class has heard their fair share of those stories, which are always entertaining. But Alice, did you forget to tell us about who this little one is?" Mrs. Murray said, gesturing to Willow who was in Waverly's arms chewing on her giraffe again.

"That's my cousin, Willow. We can't play together right now which is sad but soon she's gonna get big like me and we can play all the time," Alice answered simply. They talked for a little while longer until Alice dragged them away to someone else she wanted them to meet.

After all of that was done, everyone headed back to the Homestead so they could have dinner and really celebrate for Alice. Nicole and Waverly got to catch up with Jermey and Robin's recent adventures, everyone told stories, and Willow took it all in from her spot on Nicole's lap.

At one point, they had moved to the living room, with everyone but Nicole, Alice, and Willow in chairs or on the couch. There was scattered conversation while Alice played an intense game of peek a boo with Willow, which cracked her up so hard that she kept falling over into Nicole's legs.

Waverly was not at all listening to whatever Wynonna was saying into her ear, she was too busy watching her wife and daughter on the floor. She felt her heart flutter watching Alice and Willow interact, and the smile on Nicole's face was everything. Waverly realized something in that moment. She felt it deep down in her soul, and a smile crept onto her face.

"God, you guys are already married, do you really have to stare at each other still?" Wynonna gagged and her daughter giggled at the action.

"You're just mad that Nicole gets all my time and you get none of it," Waverly said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around her big sister and planted a kiss on her cheek, which Wynonna instantly tried to wipe off but failed because her arms were trapped by Waverly.

It only took another 15 minutes before Willow started to get fussy, and it was clear that she as tired. Waverly tried desperately to keep her awake on the car ride home so she didn't have to worry about waking her up when they got there, but she failed, and Willow was mad when she got woken up shortly after she fell asleep.

Once they got inside, Nicole got to work giving Willow a bath while Waverly did the remaining dishes. After that, Nicole headed to the nursery while Waverly took her long awaited second shower of the day. She wanted to wash off all memory of Champ ever being a part of her.

Nicole sat in the rocking chair with Willow, who was having her last bottle of the day. She was recounting her whole day to the baby, which was something she usually did. If it was a normal day, she would read a book to Willow, but her daughter was practically asleep. Nicole studied her face.

"You've got your mommy's eyes, you lucky duck," Nicole said softly. "But you got my snowman complexion. Sorry in advance for all the sunburns." Nicole knew that it was the donor who contributed to her daughter's features, but she didn't like to think that way.

"I hope you have your mommy's heart too. And her strength. She's so strong, for you and for me. And she loves you so much. More than me, I think, which kinda stinks, but I guess I'll allow it because I love you a lot too," she continued. By then, Willow had finished her bottle and was very much asleep.

Nicole slowly and carefully transferred the sleeping baby to her crib. She barely even moved at all. Nicole gently kissed her forehead before turning to leave, but she jumped when she saw Waverly standing in the doorway. She recovered from her mini heart attack and shut the door, meeting Waverly in the hallway.

"How long were you standing there, creep?" Nicole asked quietly.

"Long enough to know you're the cutest," Waverly said while stepping close and wrapping her arms around Nicole's neck, "and hottest wife ever." Nicole grinned.

"Cutest and hottest, huh?" she questioned, walking them both a few steps so they were in their bedroom.

"Oh yeah. Without a doubt," Waverly answered, stepping up onto her tip toes to kiss Nicole deeply.

"I love you. Like, so so much," Nicole said once they pulled away, brushing some hair behind Waverly's ear. A devilish grin crossed the shorter girl's face as she stood on her tip toes once again, acting as if she was going to kiss Nicole, but instead going to her ear.

"Why don't you show me how much you love me," she whispered and Nicole instantly got goosebumps down her spine and a throbbing between her legs. That girl was going to be the death of her forever.  
**************************************  
Waverly had her head on Nicole's bare chest and could hear her heart beating fast. Her hand was resting on Nicole's stomach and she could feel how toned her wife was. She was so happy with everything that had just happened, but her mind couldn't help but wander back to her thoughts at the party.

"Waves," Nicole said gently. Waverly glanced up at Nicole. "What're you thinking about?" Suddenly the nerves of confessing her thoughts hit her, but she pushed through them.

"When I was watching you play with Willow and Alice earlier, I just got this feeling in my stomach. Like it was a very deep, very strong feeling," Waverly said vaguely.

"You lost me," Nicole said. A beat passed between them.

"I want more kids, Nicole," Waverly finally said and she instantly felt Nicole tense up.

"Um, Waves-"

"Not right now, I didn't mean like at this very second," Waverly rushed and that made Nicole relax. "I just meant, you know, in the future. When Willow is older." It was silent for a second.

"I kind of thought that was obvious," Nicole admitted and Waverly let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Well you could've said something," she sighed, and Nicole rubbed her back.

"I didn't want to pressure you with anything. Honestly, we could have just Willow and I would be the happiest. Shit, if we couldn't have any babies I still would've been happy because I get to wake up to you everyday. It's just even better now because I get to wake up to you, and Willow. And one day we're gonna wake up to Willow and 100 other babies too," Nicole admitted.

"100 sounds like a lot to me," Waverly yawned, and Nicole reached over to turn the nightstand lamp off.

"Go to sleep Waves," Nicole said softly, but she was already out. That night, Waverly dreamed of her and Nicole having a house full of babies. She dreamed of what their futures were going to be like and could only hope they would be as utterly happy with their lives as she was with hers


	3. ocean dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> waverly and nicole go on their first trip with willow and the gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone, thank you so much for the love on the last two chapters! it means a lot to me <3 i wrote this instead of studying for my ap english language exam so please enjoy it while i suffer through that.

Quiet mornings were relatively rare in the Earp-Haught household. Between Nicole's busy work schedule and their now 9 month old daughter, something was always going on. Most of the time, Nicole worked every week day and had the weekends off. But sometimes, even as Sheriff, she would bend the rules a little bit and take "sick days", just so she could stay home with her wife and baby.

When Waverly woke up, she was usually alone because of Nicole's work. But on that particular Wednesday morning, she woke up to not only Nicole, but Willow too. Nicole had something on the T.V and Willow was in her lap, distracted by her toy phone. Nicole noticed that Waverly was awake.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Nicole commented and Waverly just rolled her eyes. Willow noticed too that her other mom was awake and started to reach out for her, so Waverly sat up and took her from Nicole. She stood Willow up in her lap and watched as she jumped and bounced.

"Was she ok?" Waverly asked, referring to why she was in bed with them.

"Yeah, she was a little fussy when she woke up but then I brought her in here and she had her bottle and every thing was right in the world," Nicole answered, to which Waverly snorted.

Willow had been growing like crazy. After she learned to crawl it was like she had never lived life without it. She was fast, and if Waverly or Nicole took their eyes off of her for a second, she would already be somewhere that she wasn't supposed to be.

She had also started pulling herself up to stand, which just about made Waverly faint the first time it happened. There were no steps out of her and there probably wouldn't be for a while, but the standing alone absolutely shocked Waverly. Her little baby wasn't going to be so little for that much longer.

She was also incredibly talkative. Of course, she hadn't actually said anything yet, but she had her own language. Nicole and Waverly had been trying to get her to say "mama" for weeks but she just continued to spew out nonsense.

After another 15 minutes they moved to the kitchen so they could all eat. Waverly had learned that Willow should eat in just her diaper because good Lord was that child messy. She ended up wearing most of what she was eating and it was just easier on their laundry loads if she ate without clothes.

That morning she had eggs, which wasn't super messy, but Willow still ended up with it practically everywhere. Nicole fed her while Waverly made breakfast, and Willow just sat in her high chair, enjoying the last of her eggs while her moms ate. After, Nicole went to go clean Willow up while Waverly did the dishes. While she was doing so, someone suddenly opened the door.

"Helloooo," Wynonna sing songed and Waverly rolled her eyes.

"Do you just barge into other people's houses, or is it just mine?" she sighed as Wynonna wandered into the kitchen.

"Nah, I just came from Jeremy and Robin's. You're not that special," she answered while perusing the fridge to see if anything satisfied her (nothing did, she hated all of Waverly's vegan food).

"Is there a reason you're here? Unannounced?" Waverly continued. Wynonna sat down at the island.

"Why're you so bothered that I just showed up? You think I haven't heard you and Haughtshot have sex before? Hell, I've seen more than I've ever wanted to of your relationship because you guys don't know how to lock a door," Wynonna stated simply and Waverly's cheeks burned.

"Can you please stop talking?" she whined and Wynonna just grinned wickedly. She loved making Waverly uncomfortable, almost as much as she loved doing the same to Nicole. Nicole appeared just then, carrying a now dressed and not covered in egg Willow. She was wearing a lavender onesie with a denim overall skirt over it. Once the baby noticed her aunt, she dropped the toy she was holding and reached out for her.

Willow’s liking for Wynonna was strong, and it drove Nicole crazy because Wynonna just used it as an excuse to push Nicole’s buttons more. But still, she would never deny her daughter of what she wanted, so she handed her to Wynonna.

“Do I even want to know why you’re here?” the redhead sighed.

“God, you guys are so dramatic,” Wynonna said and both women just stared at her.

“You literally just showed up at our house without telling us you were coming and have yet to give us a reason why you’re here,” Nicole deadpanned and Wynonna rolled her eyes.

“Fine, Jesus. Doc and I had been planning on going away to the beach for labor day weekend with Alice and Alice wanted everyone in the family to go. Doc literally cannot say no to her so here we are,” she finally explained.

“So this is your way of inviting us?” Waverly asked, raising an eyebrow, and Wynonna nodded.

“Couldn’t you have just, I don’t know, texted us? Like a normal person?” Nicole followed up.

“But that takes all the fun out of it,” Wynonna said simply, and the other two exchanged a glance.

“I’m sorry, who here is having fun?” the red head continued while Wynonna sported an amused expression.

“Me! Duh,” she laughed, which of course made Willow laugh because she was obsessed with Wynonna.

“Oh, so it’s fun for you because you get to annoy us,” Nicole finally connected, and Wynonna nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Nicole and Waverly were giving her a death stare.

“Yay, I successfully annoyed the crap out of your moms!” Wynonna said cheerfully while clapping. Willow, who had no idea what was going on but was thrilled to be involved, clapped too. Eventually they managed to rid their house of the pest that was Wynonna, not without protest from Willow of course. But they still got her to go down for her morning nap. 

Nicole was cleaning up the living room while Waverly sat on the couch, computer in her lap, scanning her emails. It was pretty much silent, aside from the occasional toy Nicole would kick. The toy would then make noise and Nicole would curse its existence, causing Waverly to snort.

“Are we gonna go this weekend?” Nicole finally said, breaking the silence. She sat down in the chair next to the couch.

“You mean on Wynonna’s crazy vacation?” Waverly questioned and Nicole nodded. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“I think it would be kind of fun. I mean, Willow has never left Purgatory, and when was the last time that we actually did?” the redhead continued. Waverly tried to think back to the last time they travelled anywhere that wasn’t the stupid fertility clinic, and the only thing that came to mind was their honeymoon four years prior.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Waverly sighed, shutting her laptop and stretching. 

“So does that mean we’re going to go?” Nicole questioned curiously and Waverly couldn’t help but smile at her wife’s adorableness.

“How could I say no to you?” Waverly finally said after a moment had passed, and Nicole’s smile only grew, her dimples coming out (the same dimples that Willow had).

Two days had passed and they were about an hour into their journey with a half hour remaining. The place they were going was quiet, small town setting with tons of little shops and restaurants. Apparently Wynonna had snuck out there as a teenager and only just recently remembered it.

They had left at about 9:30 which was right around the time Willow was due for her first nap of the day. Luckily, she tended to sleep pretty well in the car so she dozed off after 15 minutes or so. Nicole drove while Waverly sat in the passenger seat. She glanced over at her wife, who was sporting sunglasses, her hair blowing in all sorts of directions due to her window being down. Waverly’s stomach seized pleasantly at the sight and it reminded her of the way she felt when she had first met Nicole.

“I see you looking at me,” Nicole commented.

“You say that like it’s a crime,” she responded and Nicole scoffed.

“As if. I’d pick you to stare at me out of everyone else on the Earth,” the redhead said simply and there were those butterflies in Waverly’s stomach again.

“Really? Out of everyone else on the Earth you’d pick me to have stare at you?” she pushed.

“Babe, I’d pick you every time,” Nicole answered, turning away from the road for a split second to smile at her wife and take her hand.

“I’d pick Rosita,” Waverly giggled and Nicole gasped, ripping her hand out of Waverly’s dramatically.

“Wow, after all of this? Our 3 years of dating, 4 years of marriage, a child, and you pick the girl you kissed once when we were in a fight?” she said and Waverly couldn’t stop laughing.

“I’m kidding baby. You know I’d pick you. If there ever comes a day I pick anyone else over you then you should send me to a mental hospital,” she finally admitted. Nicole sent a fake glare her way before sighing and taking Waverly’s hand again.

“You are so lucky that I love you,” Nicole grumbled. The remaining 30 minutes of the drive were peaceful once they could see the ocean. When they got to the hotel, they met up with everyone else. It was quite the scene in the lobby, all 8 of them making some kind of noise, but it eventually got sorted out and they all went to their rooms for a bit before lunch.

“Babe, come look at this view,” Waverly gasped from the balcony, and Nicole laughed a little at the childlike wonder in her wife’s voice. She joined her out there, Willow on her hip, and saw the view Waverly was talking about. They had all splurged a bit and somehow squeezed into a hotel that was right across from the beach, so they were staring directly out at the water. 

“I haven’t been to the beach in forever,” Nicole commented and stepped next to Waverly on the edge of the balcony.

“I don’t think I’ve ever even been to a beach before, you know, because of all the craziness that’s happened when Wynonna was gone,” Waverly said, and Nicole could hear the hint of sadness in her voice. She never liked to talk about her childhood or the period of time without Wynonna. Nicole knew everything about it since Waverly had told her, but she never pressured her into saying anything. She put a supportive hand on her wife’s back.

“Well we’re gonna make sure that your first time at the beach will be the best one possible,” Nicole responded and Waverly leaned against her.

“It’ll be Willow’s first time on the beach too,” she commented after a second had passed. The baby had a piece of a banana in her hand, which she promptly dropped over the edge of the balcony, watched for a second, then laughed. The two women exchanged a glance.

“Wynonna,” they said at the same time.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful because it was their first day there. They had lunch and dinner together, and during both of those meals, Nicole tried to fight with Wynonna about teaching her baby to throw food, which Wynonna denied. It wasn’t successful though, because there was a significant amount of food on the floor near Willow’s high chair, and it didn’t help that Alice was laughing at her too.

By the time they got back to their room, they were all pretty exhausted, so after a bath and a book Willow was out, and her moms followed soon after. Willow slept surprisingly well for being somewhere new. Waverly only had to get up once. At 8:25 they were all awake, Willow now in their bed, playing with her keys. Nicole then left for a run which meant that it was just Waverly and Willow.

Then, at 8:35, there was pounding on the door, and Waverly jumped. She quickly threw Nicole’s sweatshirt over her head and moved towards the door. When she looked through the peephole and saw it was Wynonna and Alice, she relaxed and opened the door. 

“Why are you trying to break down my door so early?” Waverly sighed and Wynonna barged right past her, Alice following. 

“We’re going to the beach, why aren’t you ready?” Wynonna said like it was obvious. Alice was entertaining Willow.

“Uh, because you never said anything about it,” Waverly replied and Wynonna seemed shocked that she didn’t telepathically receive her message about going to the beach.

“Where’s Haught sauce?” Wynonna continued and Alice giggled, while Waverly rolled her eyes.

“On a run,” she answered, causing Wynonna to gag.

“A run? Jesus, you really know how to pick them,” Wynonna mumbled.

“Wynonna, I’m two seconds away from kicking your-”

“Dude, I’m kidding. We can just hang here until she comes back,” Wynonna said simply and Waverly refrained from pointing out all the flaws in her plan. Willow had gotten distracted by Wynonna (of course) so Alice ran over to Waverly, who was sitting at the end of the bed.

“Auntie Waves, do you know how to swim?” Alice asked eagerly and Waverly placed the mini Wynonna in her lap.

“I do, baby. Do you?” Waverly answered, knowing full well that the 4 year old did. She and Nicole had been the ones to bring her to her swim lessons a couple of times and it was incredibly boring, but she wasn’t going to stop her niece’s excited story telling.

Shortly after, Nicole came back and Alice got impatient so Waverly promised to just meet them at the beach so that they didn’t have to sit through an Alice tantrum, or as Wynonna called them, a “Satanic Spaz Attack”.

Waverly had changed into her bikini and had also changed Willow into a white long sleeve bathing suit top that had rainbows on it, and matching bottoms. The baby was busy pulling herself up to stand by holding onto the side of the bed. Waverly was so distracted by Willow that she almost missed Nicole leaving the bathroom, but was glad she looked up.

Nicole had always prided herself on staying in shape and Waverly thanked whatever God was above her for blessing her with Nicole as her wife because seeing her in a black bikini was enough to make her stomach drop. She could literally see her abs from where she was sitting and it was painful to see how little she was wearing, but how much she was wearing at the same time.

“Do we really have to go to the beach now? Can’t we just, I don’t know, drop Willow with Wynonna and run?” Waverly groaned, flopping back onto their bed.

“As much as I love the sound of that, I promise this will be fun,” Nicole reassured, stepping into a pair of shorts.

“And if it’s not fun?” Waverly tested. Nicole walked over to Waverly leaned down over her so that their chests were touching.

“Then I’ll make it up to you,” she said lowly before gently kissing Waverly’s lips. Waverly whined when she pulled away to stop Willow from crawling onto the balcony.

They eventually made it out onto the beach, not without a typical Wynonna comment about them being late. Waverly actually ended up having a great time with everyone. They determined that the cold water was not Willow’s favorite at all, but Alice kept dragging Doc into it with her.

Jeremy and Robin acted like children, working intently on creating the most intricate sand castle they could, while Wynonna said she was going to dig to China and dug a very deep hole that occupied her for longer than it should’ve. Besides hating the water, Willow had fun too. The sand seemed to be of major interest to her, but she continued to try to put it in her mouth. At one point she managed to take a nap in Nicole’s arms and under an umbrella where both of them wouldn’t burn.

It was nearing the end of the day and everyone seemed to be exhausted. Wynonna was seated next to Nicole, surprisingly silent while she went on her phone. Doc was next to her, knocked out, and Robin and Jeremy had gone on a walk with Alice to look for sea shells. Waverly was the only one that was still in the sun. She was laying on her stomach on her towel and had untied the straps of her bikini so she could avoid tan lines. Nicole couldn’t help but stare at her.

“If you don’t take the sex out of your eyes in 5 seconds I am literally going to throw up,” Wynonna groaned. 

“You’re just jealous of us,” Waverly called back to her.

“I’ll have you know that Doc and I have a very healthy sex life, thank you very much,” Wynonna said proudly and Nicole rolled her eyes. She decided to ignore Wynonna and focus on Willow, who was standing in her lap. Nicole was holding onto her hands to help her.

“Has mini tater-Haught said any real words yet?” Wynonna questioned.

“Nope. We’ve been trying to get mama out of her for weeks but she just refuses to say it. Their conversation ended up shifting to stories of things Wynonna had done when drunk. Nicole was so engrossed in one of the many stories that she almost missed when the word they had been trying to get Willow to say finally tumbled out of her mouth. But when she realized, Nicole instantly shushed the other two girls.

“What’s your deal?” Wynonna asked and Nicole shushed her again. Even Waverly sat up as she retied her bikini top. They were all silent and staring at Nicole, who was looking at her baby. Finally, after a beat passed, Willow said it again; mama. Nicole and Waverly shared an excited glance as Willow repeated it again, and again.

“That’s right, pumpkin. I’m your mama,” Nicole said happily, tickling the girl’s stomach and smiling at her laugh.

“Dude, you know she has no idea what she’s saying, right?” Wynonna pointed out and instantly the moment was ruined.

Wynonna was right, too. By the time that they headed out to dinner that night, Willow had called Waverly, Wynonna, a seagull, and a piece of cheese mama. But it didn’t matter to Nicole. She was still thrilled that Willow had finally said it.

Just like the previous day, when they made it back to their hotel room, they were all exhausted. So after showers and baths and changing and teeth brushing and only some crying, they were all in bed. Waverly had Willow in her lap who was holding her own bottle contently.

“She’s getting so big, Nic,” Waverly commented out of the blue. Nicole turned her attention away from the Live PD on the T.V down to their not so little baby in her wife’s lap. 

“I know. It feels like just yesterday we were taking her home and shitting ourselves about it,” Nicole responded and Waverly giggled, but Nicole could tell it had some emotion to it.

“I feel so stupid getting emotional over this but-,” Waverly stopped as her tears began to fall and Nicole didn’t hesitate at all when she scooted next to Waverly and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl.

“Don’t ever feel that your emotions are stupid baby. Never, ever think that,” she said. That alone, like it did every time, made Waverly feel better. 

“It’s just-today really reminded me that they won’t stay this little forever and soon she’ll be walking and then she’ll be talking and then-oh God Wynonna is gonna teach her so many bad things,” Waverly cried and Nicole had to bite back a laugh at the thought of Wynonna’s influence on their daughter.

“That’s why we just take it one step at a time. I really hate to sound cheesy but you have to live in the moment with things like this,” Nicole continued. There was a pause between them before Waverly sniffled and laughed.

“That was really cheesy,” she finally said with a teary smile and Nicole gently wiped away the remainder of her tears. 

“But you’re not crying anymore,” Nicole pointed out as she took the bottle from Willow, who was pretty much asleep in Waverly’s lap. Waverly slowly and carefully shifted Willow so that she was laying on her chest and miraculously did it without waking her up.

“I feel so embarrassed for getting upset,” Waverly said quietly. Her head was on Nicole’s shoulder and she was fighting sleep because she didn’t want to fall asleep with Willow in her arms.

“Really, Waves, don’t be. Trust me when I say I feel the same way, but you know me, I don’t cry easily,” she reassured and Waverly did start to feel better.

“You’re good at that,” the shorter girl said.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, baby. I’m good at a lot of things,” Nicole responded and Waverly snorted.

“Making me feel better, dork,” she continued and could practically feel the suggestive look that she knew was on Nicole’s face.

“You know, if you’re still upset, I have a couple things in mind that might make you feel better,” the red head said in a low voice. Waverly glanced up at her with an apologetic look.

“I would love to, I really would love to, but...,” she trailed off and Nicole knew she was talking about Willow when she glanced down at the baby who was still sleeping peacefully.

“Kids ruin everything,” Nicole huffed jokingly as she crossed her arms and pouted. As if on cue, there was a quiet knock on the door. At first, the two women exchanged worried glances, but then they put the pieces together. Nicole got out of bed and opened the door to see Alice, who was wearing her favorite Disney princesses nightgown and clutching her stuffed giraffe to her chest. Nicole knew that Wynonna and Doc were literally right across the hallway so she wasn’t too concerned.

“Mommy said I could have a sleepover with you guys,” the little girl said. A smile crept onto Nicole’s face as she picked her niece up and informed her of how she had to be quiet so that she didn’t wake Willow up. Nicole dropped Alice down onto the bed and Alice crawled her way up so that she could be right next to Waverly.

“Are we having a sleepover?” Waverly whispered excitedly and Alice nodded. Waverly held out her hand that wasn’t holding Willow and Alice gently gave her a high five. Nicole slid back into bed next to Alice so that the girl was sandwiched in between her aunts. The second Nicole’s back hit the mattress, Alice was already clinging to her side, her head on Nicole’s chest as Nicole ran a hand through her hair.

Shortly after, Nicole and Alice were both fast asleep. Waverly could see them in the glow of the T.V and felt her heart flutter at the sight of the two of them snuggled up. She couldn’t help but think about what it would be like when they were older. Waverly took comfort in knowing that Willow was always going to have her older cousin by her side. They were already inseparable and it reminded her of the relationship her and Wynonna had as kids, before all the bad stuff happened.

She also couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like when her and Nicole had more kids. Being pregnant was not one of Waverly’s favorite things in the world because of how incredibly rough it was on her tiny body, but she would gladly do it again if it meant having more kids. She knew that she and Nicole had to actually sit down and talk about it since it wasn’t as easy for them as it was for other couples.

Her mind was running through all sorts of different scenarios until Nicole’s advice from earlier popped into her head; take everything one step at a time and live in the moment. So, she carefully transferred Willow into her Pack and Play and crawled back into bed, scooting as close to Alice’s back as possible before throwing an arm over the girl and resting her hand on Nicole’s stomach. She could hear the ocean through the screen on their balcony and she felt the happiest she had been in a long time.


	4. a trip around the sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> willow turns 1, things get wild

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im saying right now that this chapter absolutely sucks, and it’s because i went in with no plan and wrote it at 2 in the morning. even though it’s the worst and is so all over the place, i hope you enjoy some of it <3

Christmas was, without a doubt, Waverly's favorite time of year.

Usually.

In past years of her life, she would begin to get excited for Christmas whenever it started to get cold in Purgatory. This usually meant that her Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis would have to suffer through her playing Christmas music in the middle of October, but Waverly never let anyone ruin her Christmas spirit.

When she met Nicole, the holidays had a whole new meaning to them. Being with Nicole meant that everyday was like Christmas, but Christmas time and Nicole? Waverly was practically in heaven for the entire months of November and December. They were her absolute favorite months of the year. Until they had Willow. 

As soon as the temperatures in Purgatory dropped below freezing, which didn't take long because Purgatory wasn't exactly a mild location, she felt a pit of stress begin to form in her stomach. The cold temperatures meant winter was approaching which meant that Willow's 1st birthday was approaching which meant that they had less and less time before their baby was no longer a baby.

And Waverly hated it.

She tried not to let it bother her, she really did, but she was naturally an emotional person, and the thought of her daughter turning 1 felt like the equivalent of sending her off to college. Of course, Nicole stayed strong and supported her wife as best as she could, but she missed her happy and bubbly Waverly.

Once December rolled around and the Christmas spirit was starting to become hard to ignore in Purgatory, Waverly bean to loosen up a bit. It wasn't Willow's first Christmas with them but it felt like it because she was only a week old the previous year. Being able to see Willow's eyes light up at their Christmas tree, and how she reacted to all the colorful lights in town was refreshing, and made her feel better. But December 18th was slowly creeping closer and closer, until it finally arrived.

By the time the clock hit midnight and the day changed from the 17th to the 18th, Nicole was just wrapping up her shift. She usually didn't mind the night shifts, she actually preferred them to the day shifts because it was usually just rescuing some drunk fool from Shorty's and stopping the occasional speedster flying through town. But since she knew that there was a busy week ahead for her family, all she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She willed her eyes open the entire drive home.

Nicole frowned when she pulled into the driveway and saw that the living room light was on. It meant Waverly was probably still awake. She turned her car off and headed inside, carefully closing the door behind her so she didn't make too much noise. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that Waverly was asleep on the couch under a blanket. 

As quietly as she could, she kicked off her boots and hung up her car keys. She tried to make her way over to her sleeping wife without disturbing her, but she accidentally slammed her toe into one of Willow's toys and had to clench her jaw to keep from yelling.

The noise of the toy getting launched across the floor was more than enough to wake up Waverly, who slowly blinked at Nicole. Her wife was clearly trying to stop herself from letting out a string of curse words, and even in her barely awake state, it made her laugh.

"Did you decide the couch was more comfortable than our bed again?" Nicole whispered jokingly, finally making her way over to Waverly and sitting next to her on the inch of couch space that was left.

"I wanted to wait for you," Waverly mumbled, and Nicole gave her a look that said 'don't you dare try that shit with me because I know you better than that'. Waverly sighed before adding, "and I couldn't sleep," under her breath.

"Is it because it's Willow's birthday?" the taller woman questioned while brushing Waverly's hair back. The brunette nodded sheepishly and Nicole couldn't help but smile a bit at how cute she was.

"It's officially the 18th now," Waverly commented, or tried to. Nicole stroking her forehead was doing an excellent job of putting her back to sleep.

"Yeah, well, it's still gonna be the 18th in 8 hours so why don't we sleep until then?" Nicole suggested and all Waverly could manage was a nod and a lift of her arms that signified Nicole had to carry her. Nicole sighed, lovingly of course, before scooping Waverly up bridal style. Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck and leaned into her.

"I didn't cry at all," Waverly said, but again it sounded more like a jumbled mass of syllables than anything else. 

"Good job, baby. I'm proud of you," Nicole responded as she gently dropped Waverly down onto their bed and noticed that she was already asleep again. She pulled the covers up over her tiny body and felt ever so lucky that she got to spend the rest of her life with the girl in front of her.

She quickly did her nightly routine before slipping into bed next to Waverly and pulling her close. Waverly got cold so easily, but her body gave off an odd amount of heat. So while Waverly slept with just about every blanket in the house, Nicole just needed Waverly close to her to be warm all night. 

As tired as Waverly was, Nicole could tell that she didn't sleep well. Every so often Nicole would get woken up by a smack to the face from one of Waverly's limbs. When she was stressed she tended to sleep in a violent manor. There had been numerous times that Nicole had to explain to people that, no, she didn't get into a fight with anyone, her wife just accidentally whacked her in the eye while she was asleep.

Nicole's internal alarm clock woke her up at around 7:30 and by then, Waverly was practically sleeping diagonally. Nicole would've stayed in bed longer, but she could hear Willow babbling to herself through their baby monitor and figured that she should go get her before she stated to get upset. 

She untangled her legs from Waverly's and crept down the hall to Willow's room. Upon opening the door she saw the littlest redhead standing up in her crib, holding onto the railing. She still had her pacifier in her mouth but was smiling and the sight made Nicole's heart swell. She totally had Waverly's eyes, but she had already adapted an incredibly hard to tame bed head, something Nicole frequently struggled with.

"Good morning, pumpkin," Nicole said cheerily, to which Willow bounced up and down happily. She picked Willow up and went to change her diaper, detailing all of the encounters she had experienced the night before, as she usually did. After that, she placed her on the floor.

"Do you want to go see your mommy?" Nicole asked, knowing that she couldn't respond. She did understand who Nicole was talking about, so she started to toddle out of the room with Nicole right behind her. Willow had started really walking only a couple weeks prior to her birthday so she still tended to wobble and fall an awful lot, but she was tough for a 1 year old, so she picked herself back up and carried on.

Waverly was still asleep when they made it into the bedroom, but Willow's constant chanting of the word "mama" woke her up pretty quickly. Nicole helped her up onto the bed, where she immediately crawled to Waverly. 

"I want to talk to whoever does your hair, because this," Waverly said, pausing to brush some of the red curls out of her face, "is not good." Nicole got back into bed next to her and they laid there for as long as Willow would stay.

"I really can't believe she's already a year old," Waverly commented as Willow lay between them, playing with Nicole's fingers.

"Are you okay?" Nicole asked, her true concern for her wife coming through and making Waverly feel warm inside. Still, the brunette thought for a second.

"Yeah, I think I am," she said after a moment.

"Good," Nicole said with a smile. They played with Willow in their bed until Nicole's stomach growled so loudly that Waverly could hear it and declared it was time for breakfast. They had their usual breakfast time, which included Willow making a gigantic mess and throwing a lot of her food. After cleaning her up and playing with her for a while it was time for her nap, which she did not go down for without a fight (they blamed Wynonna's influence).

During her nap, the two women got to work on getting ready for Willow's party. It was going to be especially small, even for them. Robin and Jeremy were away on a last minute Christmas trip and Doc was sick with a nasty cold that he didn't want to spread to anyone else, so it was just Wynonna and Alice. 

Nicole and Waverly moved efficiently and they were pretty much done by the time she woke up at around noon. They were low on a few necessities so they took the opportunity to go on a quick trip to the store as a family, something that seemed boring but almost never was.

They split up once they reached the store to try and save time, Nicole taking Willow and heading for the diapers while Waverly went on her own solo hunt for paper towels. Nicole got sidetracked when she ran into Nedley. They hadn't talked in a while and Nicole had been meaning to fill him in on the happenings since his retirement.

Nicole had finally gone away from him and made her way to the diapers when she got a call from Waverly. She balanced Willow on her hip while she answered the call, which was a struggle but not one she hadn't dealt with before.

"Baby, what's up?" Nicole asked, a little confused as to why she was getting a call from her when they were in the same store. At first, she could barely hear what was being said. It sounded like the phone wasn't anywhere near Waverly's mouth. But she listened closer, until she heard a voice she wished she never heard again in her life:

Champ.

Immediately, Nicole abandoned what she was doing and tried to find Waverly. She scanned the aisles until she made it to the paper towels, where she was. The paper towels were in the back of the store and the shelves were up against the walls which made it easy for Champ to corner her and not let her leave. Waverly was holding her phone in her hand, but it was by her side.

"Champ, step away from her," Nicole said, calming herself down on the outside. On the inside she was imagining ripping Champ's head off and kicking his ribs in.

"Oh God, you're here too? Of course," Champ groaned, rolling his eyes and stepping away from Waverly momentarily so that he could glare at Nicole.

"If you listen to me now, all I'll do is report you to the store supervisor and you won't even have to come down to the station," Nicole continued calmly. She was hoping that Champ would listen so they could avoid any trouble, but deep down inside she was praying she would have to send him to jail. Champ just looked amused.

"Oh yeah, I've heard that one before. It's bullshit. You know it, I know it, the whole goddamn town knows it. You're out to get me," he said loudly. Nicole noticed that his eyes looked crazed, and more so than usual. She guessed drugs were to blame.

"This is your last warning, Champ. You either make this easy for all of us or we do this the hard way. It's your choice," she continued. She was trying to keep her distance because Willow was on her hip, but he was coming closer, and she knew it was her duty to protect Waverly from him.

"I am so sick of you two. You're disgusting," he spat, coming even closer. Nicole glanced over at Waverly, who looked petrified and was frozen with fear. At this point, Willow was unhappy and started to cry, and the only thing Nicole could do was try to hold her as far away from Champ as possible.

"Please, just leave us alone," Waverly finally spoke, her voice giving away just how scared she really was.

"You shut the hell up!" Champ yelled, but not once turning away from Nicole.

"I'm just trying to do my job, Champ, and you had a chance to do the right thing," Nicole said. As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw something change in his eyes. They somehow became even darker, and she could see his jaw begin to tense up. He began to step back, and for a second she thought he was going to leave, until she realized he was going to try and hit her.

"What a load of shit," Champ mumbled before he swung. But Nicole saw it coming. She dodged the hit, and in one swift kick to the legs, Champ was lying facedown on the floor with Nicole's foot in the middle of his back. Nicole was thankful for her decision to always carry handcuffs with her as she took them from her coat pocket and managed to handcuff him, all happening with one hand.

Obviously Champ's loudness had created quite the scene and a crowd had gathered. Nicole phoned in some officers from the station to come and take Champ away from everyone before he hurt someone, or himself. She then finally was able to turn her attention to her two girls, who were both very shaken up.

Nicole took them both out of the store, and Willow had calmed down enough by the time they got to the car for her to go in her car seat. But Nicole could feel Waverly's whole body shaking from the arm she had around her shoulder, so the second Willow was strapped in, she wrapped Waverly in her arms. The smaller girl completely broke down.

Waverly tried her best to sob the story out to Nicole, who managed to collect that he had cornered her and said his usual insults, but seemed much more angry and aggressive than she had ever seen him. It had only been going on for about a minute when she managed to call Nicole.

Waverly had a death grip on Nicole's hand the entire ride home, but had relaxed a bit once they arrived back home. She headed to the backseat to get Willow out, Nicole watching carefully to make sure she was really ok.

"Your mama is kind of like a superhero, isn't she?" Waverly asked the little one softly. Willow was less than interested, squirming to get down and walk on her own, but Nicole let out a sigh of relief. They got inside and all went to the living room where they could play with Willow. Nicole was on the floor with her, but she wouldn't stop staring at Waverly.

"Nicole, I'm ok,"'Waverly finally said after a few minutes of Nicole just stealing worried glances.

"You know it's ok if you're not," the red head responded and Waverly could practically feel the concern radiating from her voice.

"I know. I'll be honest, I'm shaken up and I probably will be for a little while, but being here with you and Willow is enough to make me forget already," she answered, but Nicole's concerned look didn't leave her face.

"Really, Waves, if you're not-"

"Nicole, stop it. I'm fine. I saw how you handled him. You weren't even phased, and you were holding a baby. If seeing your very hot wife take down someone else while carrying a child isn't reassuring, I don't know what is," the brunette said firmly. A goofy smile slipped onto Nicole's face.

"I guess I can't argue with that logic," she responded.

"Well, you know, I think a kiss might make me feel even better," Waverly said after a beat had passed, and Nicole wasted no time in crossing over to the couch, kissing the lips she was so lucky to be able to kiss every day. The brunette broke their lips apart and stared into Nicole's eyes.

"What?" Nicole asked, cocking her head to the side. Waverly just grinned.

"I...love...you," she answered, kissing Nicole in between each word. "You're my hero. Our hero." Nicole felt a blush creep up her neck and onto her face. In an attempt to hide it, she just kissed Waverly again. But of course, with their luck, the door opened.

"What's up, party people! I hope-oh, gross, right in front of your daughter?" Wynonna's loud voice echoed through their house and ruined the moment instantly. They both broke apart with a groan.

"May I remind you for the hundredth time that this is our house and you just barged in?" Nicole said, taking the inedible piece of carpet out of Willow's hand before it ended up in her mouth.

"I'm just trying to get my party on! Right, Alice?" Wynonna continued, and Alice nodded firmly.

"Well, we weren't exactly ready for the party. We had a bit of an incident at the store," Waverly said quietly so that Alice wouldn't hear. She was already off in their living room finding a movie to watch, while Waverly put Willow in her high chair so she could have a snack.

"I swear to God if that dick wad Champ was involved-"

"Mommy! That's a bad word! You're gonna have to put a dollar in the swear jar!" Alice called knowingly, and Wynonna dropped her head into her hands.

"What's that all about?" Waverly questioned with a laugh. She placed some cut up strawberry on Willow's high chair tray and watched as she eagerly began to eat it.

"Apparently she's been picking up on the swears I've been saying and repeating them at school, so her teacher suggested we start doing the stupid swear jar thing. Of course Doc was all over that, so now every single fu-freaking time I want to swear I can't," the eldest Earp groaned.

"That's kinda funny though," Nicole commented, which earned her a glare from Wynonna.

"Why can't they just stay little and innocent forever, like you?" she said sadly to Willow, who proceeded to throw a strawberry at her.

Despite the horrible events earlier in the day and being forced to relive them through telling it to Wynonna, the night they had was incredibly nice. They got to eat and drink and laugh together, they heard Alice's extensive Christmas list, and they of course got some great pictures of Willow digging into her birthday cake. Willow didn't last too long, the adventures of the day catching up to her, so Nicole put her to bed while they all moved to the living room.

When Nicole came back, Alice was curled up in Wynonna's lap, intently focused on Finding Nemo that was playing on their T.V. As soon as Nicole returned and took a seat next to Waverly, Wynonna whispered something to Alice, who then smiled and jumped off of Wynonna's lap before sprinting into the other room. Nicole didn't even have time to question it before Alice came back with a gift bag that was shaped like a bottle. She placed it in Waverly's lap before excitedly running back to Wynonna.

Waverly slowly removed the tissue paper on top before pulling out a bottle of her favorite wine, and almost missed the giant sticker on it. Carefully, she read it out loud.

"Drink this for me, you're an auntie to be, again?" she said slowly. At first, the meaning behind it completely went over her head. But then it settled into her brain, and she looked at her sister dumbfounded.

"You're pregnant?" Nicole finally gasped, and Wynonna nodded eagerly. Once the words left Nicole's mouth, Waverly began to tear up and she instantly went over to Wynonna and hugged her.

"I didn't want to make this day about me so I was gonna tell you on Christmas, but someone couldn't keep it in," Wynonna sniffled as she pointed to Alice, her emotions clearly getting the best of her. Alice looked just as thrilled.

"Are you so excited to be a big sister?" Nicole asked and the 4 year old eagerly ran over to her and started to tell her all about the things she was going to get to do as a big sister. 

"Congratulations on your first intentional baby," Waverly said.

"Intentional is not the word I would use, but thanks anyway," Wynonna scoffed, earning her a smack to the arm from Waverly.

Another hour later and there was a general sense of tiredness in the room. Wynonna was in the recliner with Alice fast asleep on her chest, while Waverly and Nicole laid together on the couch. Willow, who had been woken up by Wynonna's pregnancy commotion and refused to go back to sleep, had finally passed out in Waverly's arms. They had Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on the T.V, and the only light in the room was coming from the fireplace.

"Nicole?" Waverly said softly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" the red head responded, exhaustion heavy in her voice.

"Do you think we've done a good job so far? You know, as parents?" she asked genuinely, and her wife's arms tightened comfortably around her.

"Hell yeah, baby. We're the best," Nicole mumbled, and Waverly smiled. She looked at the sleeping baby in her arms, her precious niece, her sister, and glanced back at her wife, and knew deep down inside that no matter what happened, she would always have her family by her side.  
*****************************************  
A week later, at their family Christmas, Wynonna told everybody that she was pregnant, which made Christmas 10 times more interesting. Robin then pointed out that two years in a row they had experienced something baby related on Christmas. The year before was everybody meeting Willow, and then it was Wynonna being pregnant. So naturally, a joke about carrying the tradition on was made.

The following year they celebrated Christmas with 3 month old baby Theodore (Theo for short), who was another clone copy of Wynonna. A month prior to Christmas, Jeremy and Robin got married and adopted a dog, which was the closest thing to a baby that they were getting.

Then the Christmas after came around, with Alice being 6, Willow being a threenager, and Theo being a little over a year old. It was their first Christmas in a little while that they hadn’t had any exciting baby news, which everybody found disappointing. Waverly and Nicole were exhausted being woken up at the crack of dawn by Willow, so they headed home early to go to sleep.

Nicole had practically melted into the bed the second she hit the mattress and desperately wanted to go to sleep, but Waverly had disappeared somewhere and she didn’t want to fall asleep until she came back. Another 5 minutes passed and Nicole was pretty much done for until she heard Waverly return. In her hand, she held a small gift bag.

“Baby, we already gave each other our gifts,” Nicole said sleepily while sitting up.

“I know, but this one is special,” Waverly responded, and Nicole could hear the nerves in her voice. She wondered what could be in the bag that was making her that nervous. Waverly kneeled next to her on the bed and watched as she pulled all the tissue paper out to reveal a rectangular red box. Nicole pulled it out and started to remove the top. Waverly sucked in a breath as the gift was revealed.

Nicole just stared down at it. 

Sitting in her lap was a cheap stick of plastic. But the only thing about it that mattered was the little screen that displayed the word “Pregnant”. Nicole felt her soul leave her body.

“Shut up,” she breathed, glancing up at Waverly, who had tears in her eyes.

“I took a couple. They’re all positive,” she cried. Nicole just kept glancing between the test and her wife.

“So it worked?” Nicole finally said and all Waverly could manage was a nod before Nicole crushed her in a hug. They both cried happy tears together. They would worry about telling Willow in the upcoming days. 

But at that moment, it was just the two of them. 

Together.

Happy.


	5. home is where the heart is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the second baby is here! and wayhaught gets emotional as usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so i don’t really like how this chapter turned out. idk why, i just couldn’t get into writing it as much as i could in the last ones. i hope you like it though! thanks for all the love <3
> 
> also, fun fact, i was an IVF baby! my mom has told me stories about everything her and my dad went through to be able to have children so i understand how much of a journey it can be. if anyone who’s reading this happens to be taking that route, i’m sending you all the love and luck i possibly can :)
> 
> *this chapter in particular doesn't like that i tried to italicize things so bear with me while i try to get it working properly*

Nicole was nervous. Really nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so nervous. Actually, that wasn't true. She was just as nervous when she had gone on her first date with Waverly, and when she first kissed her, and when she proposed, and on their wedding day, and a handful of other things too. But still, she was incredibly nervous.

Nicole tried to relax herself as she recapped the events of the previous days in her head. Just 24 hours before, Waverly had a vice like grip on her hand as her screams of pain echoed off the hospital walls. All Nicole could do was keep encouraging her, until finally, they heard the cries of their newest family member. And the first 24 hours with their baby were just as great as they were the first time around with Willow. But Willow was the reason why Nicole was so nervous.

Willow was usually fairly well behaved, and when Nicole and Waverly had told her she was going to be a big sister like Alice was, she seemed excited. But she was only 3, so Nicole knew the real meaning of big sister didn't quite reach her. And she was terrified that, once she realized the baby was going to be staying with them, all hell would break loose.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Waverly asked, drawing Nicole out of her thoughts. She looked over at her wife in the hospital bed and her heart didn't fail to flutter as it usually did. Even after giving birth, she looked as beautiful as ever.

"I'm just nervous," Nicole sighed, leaning back against the uncomfortable hospital couch. Her stomach was in knots.

"My Nicole? Nervous?" Waverly gasped, and her joking tone relaxed Nicole a bit.

"I just-what if Willow doesn't like the baby?" she admitted. Her face burned when Waverly laughed lightly, trying not to disturb the baby she was feeding.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. You're just cute," the brunette said, and Nicole's glare softened. "She might, she might not. Whatever her feelings are, it'll be ok. Wynonna told me that she tried to send me back to the hospital when I was born and look at us now."

"I guess you're right," Nicole finally said, feeling ever so grateful for her wife's presence. Waverly smiled at her and carefully scooted over in the bed before patting the space next to her, signifying that she wanted Nicole there. Nicole was not one to deny her wife's requests so she eagerly joined her. They were cramped together and there was no personal space whatsoever, but neither of them cared.

For the entirety of Waverly's pregnancy, they had wondered what the baby would end up looking like. The red hair trait had made its way into their second child too, but while this baby did look similar to Willow, there was a much stronger resemblance to Waverly the second time around. The new baby had Waverly's eyes, and her nose, and a lot more facial similarities than Willow.

While they had decided to find out the gender during the pregnancy with Willow, they chose to wait until birth to find out with the second baby. They hadn't told anyone the gender yet and were waiting until they could meet the baby in person to reveal it. Nicole gazed down at the peaceful bundle in Waverly's arms and felt her heart grow, if it was even possible.

"Hi, little on," she said softly. She held her finger out to the newest addition and felt the little hand wrap around it.

"Your big sister is gonna be here soon. She's got a lot of energy, so you better get used to it," Nicole continued and Waverly giggled.

"But she's so excited to meet you. So are your cousins Alice and Theo, and Aunt Wynonna, who is a terrible influence and you should never listen to anything she says." That earned her a smack from Waverly. Almost as if on cue, the door to their room opened and in marched Wynonna and Doc. Willow and Alice practically flew past them and into the room, while Theo was on Wynonna's hip.

"Mama!" Willow cried happily, running straight to Nicole's side of the bed and holding her arms up. Nicole lifted the little girl into her lap where she instantly wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"Hi, pumpkin, did you have fun with Auntie Wynonna?" Nicole responded as the girl released her grip and sat back in her lap.

"Mhm I did! I saw Frozen and we got pizza and I got to stay up late," she said excitedly, and both the women instantly looked at Wynonna.

"Dude, you're so your mother's daughter," the eldest Earp groaned, and Nicole was hit with flashbacks to all the times Wynonna called her a narc. Ignoring Wynonna for the time being, Willow finally noticed the baby in Waverly's lap.

"Is it my baby?" Willow asked, gazing up at Waverly with the biggest hazel eyes. Waverly smiled at her daughter.

"Yeah, baby, it is," she answered. Willow looked between Waverly and the baby in amazement for a second.

"Can I hold please?" she finally asked. Waverly nodded and Nicole instructed the eager little girl to sit down in her lap and be very gentle because the baby was so little. Carefully, she placed the newest Earp-Haught into Willow's arms, Nicole helping to hold her head.

"Willow, this is your baby sister," Nicole said softly.

"Sister?" Willow gasped as she looked at Waverly, who again just nodded.

"We are surely outnumbered now," Doc commented to Theo, who was too interested in the view out the window to care.

"What's her name?" Alice asked excitedly from her spot on the couch.

"Wren Julia," Waverly answered, and Wynonna made a face.

"I love it, really, but it does not flow well. Like, at all," she said.

"We wanted her middle name to sound similar to...you know," Nicole responded. The topic of Waverly's father was always a sore subject, and one that the kids weren't fully educated on anyway, so they tended to steer away from it whenever possible.

"Mama, she's got our hair," Willow giggled as she pointed to the barely there hair on top of her sister's head.

"That's right, she does. And her name starts with a W, just like yours, and Mommy's, and Auntie Wynonna's," she said. A smile lit up the smaller girl's face as she looked at her sister.

"I like her, mama. Do we get to keep her?" Willow finally said, and her moms released a collective sigh of relief.

"Yeah, pumpkin, she gets to stay with us," Nicole said with a smile. She was relieved that, for the time being, Willow liked her. Eventually Willow got bored so Wren was handed off to Wynonna, who was clearly excited to have another niece to corrupt with dangerous ideas.

"You don't have any more babies in there, right mommy?" Willow asked. She was tucked into Waverly's side with her hand on her mom's stomach.

"Nope, it was just Wren," Waverly confirmed.

"Did I come out of there?" the little girl continued, looking up at Waverly intently.

"You did, and you were so teeny tiny, too," Waverly reminisced. She couldn't believe that Willow was going to be 4 in 3 short months.

"I'm big now," she continued after a beat, and Waverly was trying her best to stay awake and continue responding, but her body was exhausted. Luckily, everyone seemed to get the message and said their goodbyes, Nicole promising Willow that they would be home the next day.

Waverly was ready to sleep until she heard Wren cry and instantly her mom instincts woke her up, but the sight she saw put her at ease. Nicole had Wren in her arms and was quickly able to soothe the girl back into sleep. It had Waverly wondering how she ever got so lucky, and she fell asleep with that final thought.

********************************************

What they discovered in the week following Wren's birth was that she was nothing like how Willow had been. While Willow had been easy and peaceful, Wren was the exact opposite. She was fussy and spent more time crying than either of the women thought was possible. She was ok at going back to sleep, but man did she wake up a lot.

It had been a week and 2 days since Wren had been born and it was the first night that she had actually been sleeping ok. They still had to get up, but they were in a solid stretch of at least 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep that they both accepted happily. But it confused Waverly when she was woken out of a sound sleep by shaking. At first, she for some reason thought it was an earthquake. But her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she saw Willow standing there.

"Mommy, I had a nightmare," she whispered, and Waverly could hear her voice shaking.

"It's ok, baby," Waverly mumbled as she blindly got out of bed and picked up her eldest daughter, carrying her out of the room and trying not to wake Nicole or Wren in the process. She went to the kitchen and flipped on the light before placing Willow on the counter top and getting her some water. The girl took a few big sips of it before putting it down.

"Do you want to tell me what it was about?" Waverly asked gently.

"A big scary dragon took you and mama away and I was all alone," she said quietly. Waverly knew she was scared because she had experienced similar nightmares of her family getting taken away before.

"Oh, baby, I know that it's scary, but look. I'm right here, Mama is still here, everybody is still here. We aren't going anywhere, ok?" Waverly said, brushing some of her wild red hair out of her face. Willow nodded, but she didn't seem convinced.

"Y'know," the brunette started, "I used to have really scary nightmares too." At this, Willow looked up surprised.

"Really?" she asked, and Waverly nodded.

"I used to get so scared of your Mama getting hurt or taken away from me that I would have scary dreams about it," she admitted as she remembered those times. When she had really started to fall for Nicole and realized how deeply in love she really was, she was terrified that something was going to rip Nicole out of her life. So much so that it affected her sleep, and she would wake up in the middle of the night crying and drenched in sweat.

"But Mama always knew how to make me feel better, no matter how scary the dreams were. And she always told me to remember that it was just in my head," she finished, tapping the side of Willow's head gently and successfully making her smile.

"Mommy, can I sleep with you and Mama tonight?" she asked. Waverly could never say no to the puppy dog eyes she gave her.

"Of course you can," she answered and Willow smiled that same dimpled smile that Nicole had. Waverly helped her down off of the counter and she took off towards their bedroom before Waverly even knew what was happening.

She placed the water cup in the sink before heading that way too, and by the time she made it there, Willow was already as close to Nicole as she could be. Waverly felt her heart soar. The two were basically attached at the hip all day everyday, even in their sleep.

Waverly carefully slipped back into bed, trying not to disturb anyone in the process. Willow then rolled over to her side, placing her head onto Waverly's chest. Waverly ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, and soon enough, they were both fast asleep.

Nicole was woken up a little before 7 by those newborn baby screams that she missed and simultaneously hated. She was still slightly asleep so she didn't take any extra time in getting Wren out of their room and letting Waverly sleep longer. She quickly made her way into the kitchen and prepared a bottle for the baby, who took it with minimal fussing. Nicole basically collapsed onto the couch.

She could feel the exhaustion deep in her body. They had known from the start that the change from 1 to 2 kids was going to be a lot of work, and they were surely feeling it after the first week alone. But as tired and sleep deprived as they were, they both wouldn't trade it for the world. And Nicole knew that for a fact when she looked down at the baby in her arms.

"This room has a lot of memories in it," Nicole said to the infant. "I was right here on this couch when your mom told me she was pregnant with your sister."

_ "Nicole!!" _

_ Nicole, who was sleeping soundly on the couch after a long shift, was instantly woken up by the sound of her wife's voice. She wasn't sure if she had imagined it or not, so she waited for a second. _

_ "Nicole Rayleigh Earp-Haught get your ass in here!" Waverly yelled, and if Nicole wasn't awake and terrified before, she sure was then. Waverly rarely used Nicole's full name, and whenever she did use it, it was serious. So, Nicole ignored her tiredness and ran down the hall, finding Waverly in the bathroom. _

_ "What's wrong? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Nicole instantly said to her wife, who sat on the edge of the bathtub. She was staring down at something that looked like a pregnancy test. _

_ "Nicole..." Waverly started, but her voice gave away. The redhead walked over and gently took the stick out of Waverly's hands. There was no mistaking the word "Positive" on the screen. Nicole's vision clouded with tears. _

_ "You're pregnant?" Nicole said, looking down at the brunette. She was equally as teary eyed and could only manage a smile and a nod. Nicole did not hesitate in bending down and throwing her arms around her wife while they both cried happily together. After countless failed attempts, it had finally worked. They were going to be parents. _

Nicole smiled to herself at the memory. It was one of the happiest and, at the same time, scariest moments of her life. She continued to look around the room, remembering moments in her life.

"Right over there was where your sister took her first steps," Nicole continued, looking at the space on the floor where she was sitting when it happened.

T _ he weather in Purgatory was forever crappy in the winter. The sudden snow storms had a pattern of wiping out any plans that were made, which is why Nicole and Waverly were sitting on the floor of their living room with their 11 month old, instead of traveling to Florida for a winter getaway. _

_ "I'm sorry the trip got cancelled," Nicole said for probably the 50th time. _

_ "Stop apologizing, it's ok. Last time I checked, you weren't the one who sent this massive blizzard our way," Waverly reassured, and Nicole shrugged playfully. Waverly was trying to help Willow stand, and it was working, kind of. She could stand by herself for a few seconds before collapsing to the floor and trying to crawl away. _

_ Waverly grabbed her before she could go far and stood her up again. She held onto her torso so she didn't fall. Willow then set her sights on Nicole and smiled, so Nicole held her arms out for the baby. Carefully, Waverly removed her hands to see if she was going to try and walk to her. _

_ Willow started to tip forward, and Nicole thought she was about to face plant, but her tiny feet started to work, and a few clumsy steps into Nicole's arms saved her from eating it. _

_ "Those were your first steps, Willow!" Nicole said excitedly and started to clap, knowing Willow would clap too. And she did, her chubby little hands did their best attempt at clapping. _

_ "See, this makes not being in Florida right now feel like nothing," Waverly said, and Nicole smiled. _

She thought back at how small Willow had been in that memory, and couldn't believe how fast time had gone by. Willow had gotten so big, though the almost 4 year old was a hair shorter than the other kids in her preschool class. By this time, Wren had finished eating, so Nicole burped her and continued their tour around the house.

They stopped in the kitchen, and Nicole told Wren about the night that Wynonna had made Waverly laugh so hard that her drink came out of her nose. She laughed to herself at the memory, even though cleaning up that mess was not the most fun thing on the planet.

As they walked along the hall that led to the bedrooms, Nicole took her time to point out each and every picture on the wall. The old pictures where Waverly and Nicole were still so young and had just started dating. The ones they took right after Willow was born when they were still in the hospital. The entire family around the Christmas tree in New York City when Willow was almost 2. She told her about the picture of Calamity Jane, and about how the cat hated everyone except for Waverly, and that's how Nicole knew that she was a keeper.

They passed by Willow's room and Nicole recalled all the nights Waverly had spent crying in her arms after failed IVF attempts, and the heartbreak of even walking past the room that was supposed to be for a baby that they felt like they were never getting. Those months that they struggled were some of the hardest they had ever gone through which made it that much more incredible that they were blessed with not one, but two healthy daughters.

They made their way back into Nicole and Waverly's room, and that's when Nicole finally noticed that Willow had been in bed with them. She was laying on her stomach, one arm stretched out over Nicole's side of the bed, the other tucked underneath her body. Her unicorn security blanket was trapped underneath her arm as well. Waverly was asleep on her side, with an arm draped over Willow's body.

"We've had a lot of good times in here. Some of them I can't tell you about because you wouldn't even want to know, and you're not old enough," Nicole said softly to the baby. She continued along to her side of the bed.

"And right here was where your mommy told me she was pregnant with you," she said. The memory seemed so recent, yet so far away at the same time.

"Are you talking to the baby?" Waverly mumbled, apparently awake. Her eyes remained closed though.

"I don't think you're awake enough to be judging me right now, missy," Nicole said, and Waverly just hummed in response.

"M'awake," the brunette fought back, though she remained in the same asleep position.

"Oh yeah?" Nicole asked, and Waverly attempted a nod. "Then you can change her." Upon hearing that, Waverly's eyes shot open to see if Nicole was being serious, which she was, and then groaned.

"You are so mean to me," Waverly pouted as she sat up. Nicole handed Wren to her.

"You love it," the redhead countered, placing a kiss on her wife's cheek. Waverly tried to fight a smile but lost as she slowly left the room to change the baby. All of a sudden, Nicole heard giggling. She looked at her bed and saw that Willow was indeed awake but pretending to still be asleep, just like Waverly had done.

"Oh, I see. Now I have two pretenders on my hands," Nicole said as she observed the smile on her daughter's face.

"I'm not pretending. I'm sleeping," Willow giggled, following it up with fake snores.

"You know what I have to do to people who pretend to be asleep, right?" Nicole said seriously. Willow cautiously opened one eye.

"What?" she asked.

"Tickle them," the redhead responded. She didn't give Willow even a second to react before attacking her sides and stomach, causing the younger girl to squeal. After a couple seconds of Willow laughing and begging Nicole to stop, she finally let the girl breathe.

"Ok ma'am, it seems to me that you have been thoroughly tickled," Nicole said.

"Is mommy gonna have to be tickled because she was pretending too?" Willow asked. Nicole could smell something cooking in the kitchen, so she picked Willow up out of their bed.

"Mommy is making breakfast for us right now so she gets a pass," she answered, and Willow pouted.

"That's not fair," she said as Nicole put her down.

"Do you want to eat breakfast ever again?" the redhead countered, and Willow really had to think before deciding breakfast was more important that fairness and running off to the living room. Nicole took the opportunity to walk up behind Waverly, snaking her arms around the shorter girl's waist and letting her head drop to her shoulder.

"You're kind of hot," Nicole said directly into Waverly's ear and she felt the girl shiver.

"Please," the brunette scoffed. "I've got various baby liquids all over me, my hair hasn't seen a brush in days, and I honestly cannot remember the last time I showered."

"Yeah that still sounds hot to me," Nicole responded and placed a kiss behind Waverly's ear where she knew it would make her squirm. And it did. Waverly's guard fell slightly.

"Nicole...," Waverly said, trying to sound as stern as she could, but her voice failed her when it came out as more needy than anything. They both knew that they really couldn't and shouldn't do anything because Waverly had literally just birthed a child a week prior, but Nicole was a tease, so if the opportunity to tease her wife presented itself, she was going to take it.

Upon hearing Waverly's failed attempt to get her to stop, she laughed against the other girl's neck, causing Waverly to again shiver pleasantly. Tightening her grip around Waverly's waist with one hand, Nicole slipped the other under Waverly's shirt. Nicole's freezing hand on her skin made Waverly suck in a breath.

In that moment, Waverly wanted to drop everything and kiss the hell out of her wife more than anything else. And as Nicole's hand continued to rise higher up her shirt, and her legs started to weaken, she really thought she was going to pass out. But of course, right as Nicole was reaching where Waverly wanted her to, Willow called out for them from the living room, and Wren started to cry from her swing.

They both let out a collective frustrated sigh as Waverly dropped her head back against Nicole's body. She knew it was for the best that they stopped before anything else went further, but God did she want them to continue. Waverly went to Wren, Nicole went to Willow, and they continued their day as usual.

A few hours passed and it was around 1:30. Willow had been napping for an hour and Wren had luckily fallen asleep on top of Waverly, who was seated on the couch. Nicole usually didn't bring work home, she liked to keep those two aspects of her life separate because she experienced some pretty traumatic things at work, but there was a case that she had really been working hard on that she wanted to do some extra work for.

Nicole's neck was starting to tighten up and her shoulders were aching, so she momentarily glanced up from her computer screen to stretch and try to release some of the tension. She closed her eyes and rolled her head around until she felt her neck pop. With a little more stretching, she was ready to return to the grueling analyzing she had to do. But before she did, she glanced over at her wife and couldn't help but smile.

Wren was totally knocked out in Waverly's arms. Waverly was looking down at the sleeping baby with a content look on her face and Nicole swore she was the most beautiful person she had ever met. She almost missed it because of how quiet it was, but she saw Waverly's mouth moving and quickly realized she was softly singing to Wren. With a smile that she would never be able to wipe off, she turned back to her computer.

"You know, I meant what I said earlier," the redhead commented. Waverly momentarily paused her singing and glanced in Nicole's direction.

"About what?" she questioned.

"When I said that you were hot. I meant it," Nicole continued.

"Yeah, well...," Waverly started, but didn't finish, implying that she didn't exactly agree with Nicole's statement.

"I'm serious, Waves," Nicole said somewhat sternly as she looked up from her computer again. "No matter what you're covered in or how long it's been since you've brushed your hair, I still think you're the most beautiful person on the planet. Nothing will ever change that. Even if you don't feel that way, you know that you always will be beautiful to me."

It was silent, and Nicole thought she had maybe said something wrong. When she heard Waverly sniffling, she really thought she fucked something up. But when Waverly looked up from her lap and saw Nicole's horrified face, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh thank God, you scared me," the redhead sighed in relief.

"No, they're happy tears. My emotions are kind of all over the place right now," Waverly said, smiling through her tears. "I really needed to hear that."

"That's why I said it. That, and it's true, too," Nicole said nonchalantly, and Waverly wouldn't stop staring at her with a smile on her face.

"What?" the redhead asked.

"Well, are you going to keep sitting there or are you going to come over here and kiss me?" Waverly responded, saying it like it was obvious. Nicole couldn't fight the dumb grin that immediately landed on her face as she abandoned her work to happily kiss the woman who owned her heart.


End file.
